KISD Special Education Department Selected as Faces of Goodwill Honoree

The Keller ISD Special Education Department will be honored at the 75 Faces of Goodwill Gala Awards on October 24, 2024, at The Fort Worth Club for being a community partner that has impacted Goodwill North Central Texas within the past 75 years. 

The Special Education Department was nominated because Lydia Evans, Keller ISD Transition Program Specialist, partners with Goodwill in many ways to assist KISD students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) in their movement from school to post-school activities. 

"Our students use the Goodwill on Beach Street as one of their work-based learning job sites, a partnership we are grateful for," Evans said. "Dozens of our students do summer work experiences provided by Goodwill and Texas Workforce, which is such an important service as our students develop employment skills.”

Additionally, she often sets up tours for Keller ISD Transition students' families to see the Goodwill facility as they explore post-secondary options for their adult children with disabilities. She works with Goodwill S.T.A.R.S., an individualized socialization and skills program for adults with disabilities, to speak at KISD Parent Nights. Evans also created a focus group to see about getting a Goodwill S.T.A.R.S. program started in the Keller area that would service adults with disabilities after they complete their Special Education services. 

“Goodwill has always been a good partner as we prepare our students for their post-secondary lives, and I’m honored they recognize the work we put into future planning for our students,” Evans said.